Even If They're Against Us
by SomethingMoreCreative
Summary: When Annabeth Chase "persuaded" him into marrying her, Percy never thought that he would actually develop feelings for her. And now here he is, risking his life because he wants to keep Annabeth safe. The problem? Annabeth could definitely keep herself safe, and Percy is going to get himself killed trying to make sure that he sees her again. Percabeth. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was completed unplanned. I have had the idea in my head for a few weeks, but when I wrote it down I wasn't sure about it. Make sure to hop over to tumblr and thank my pjowriters squad for actually persuading me to post it. You guys rock. Also, if you want to see this continued, please let me know. And the best way to do that is to leave it in my tumblr ask box (link is on my profile) because then I won't ignore it as easily. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****_Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, _****or anything else that you may recognize. **

_-1282014-_

Percy rolled off of the bed and grabbed Annabeth's phone. He knew that he wasn't supposed to answer it, but it had been ringing for the past ten minutes.

"Hello?" He said, walking toward the bathroom. He could still hear the shower running, and he could faintly hear Annabeth humming to herself.

"Percy? Are you alright?" He recognized Piper's voice on the other side of the line immediately.

He frowned and swung the door open, "I'm fine. Annabeth is in the shower."

"I need you to put her on the phone right now."

"Okay," Percy said. He moved the phone from his ear and peeked around the shower curtain. Annabeth was already looking at him, and she smiled softly as she cut the water off and opened the shower curtain. Percy let his eyes wander down her delicious frame, clenching his jaw and looking up toward her eyes.

Annabeth took her phone from his hand and pressed it to her ear, "Piper."

She was silent as Piper talked quickly. Percy wasn't listening hard enough to understand them, and he slowly stepped forward and pressed his lips to Annabeth's neck. Her free hand slid up his back and settled in his hair as he kissed down her neck and around her collarbone. When Percy kissed down the slope of her left breast, her grip tightened in his hair tighter than he expected, and he made a slight, surprised noise against her skin.

Annabeth immediately let go, and she smoothed his hair down in an apology. She gently pushed him back so she could climb out of the shower, and she grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her body.

"Okay, this is what is going to happen," Annabeth started. Percy winced when he heard how cold her voice was. He had spent this entire trip trying to forget that tone. "While we're getting ready to leave, I need you to call Jason and send him to the office to burn those files. I'll call Geoffrey, and I should be back to New York in three hours. Is Thalia still at our safe house in Seattle?"

Annabeth listened for half of a second before she said, "Okay, I'm putting Percy on a plane, and I want Thalia to be at the airport waiting for him to get off of a private jet. She won't let him leave her sight once he gets there, do you understand?"

Percy stared at her in confusion. What was going on? Why was she going back to New York when Percy was going to Seattle? And why was he going to Seattle? What the hell was happening?

"Good, now I want you and Hazel to go to Percy's mother's house and put her on a flight to Seattle too. I'll call her and explain, so when you get there she should ask for you to spell Percy's middle name. _Don't _mess that part up. Once you get her on the plane, you and Hazel go to the office and stock a car with weapons. Come to the airport and wait on me, and once I'm there we can handle it," Annabeth spoke quickly, drying herself off with her towel. Percy was staring at her, and she set one of her hands on his chest.

"Annabeth," he asked. "What's going on?"

"Piper, I'll call you back in fifteen minutes," she said shortly. Once she looked up at him, she said, "I need you to help me, do you understand?"

"I'm not going to Seattle," he said.

"Yes, you are."

"Why? What's happening?" He demanded.

She sighed and moved past him. Percy followed her as she walked into the bedroom and pulled some clothes from her suitcase. She pulled her panties and a bra on as she said, "Work stuff. I have to get back to New York now. I don't want you there just in case something bad happens."

"_Is _something bad going to happen?"

She must have heard the tone in his voice because her expression softened. She shook her head. "No. There's just something that I have to deal with, and I would rather you and your mom be in Seattle where I know you're safe."

"Why would we need to be safe?"

Annabeth dialed someone else on her phone and spoke to them quickly, asking for two private jets to be at the airport waiting on them. She started dialing another number, but Percy walked over to her and jerked her phone out of her hand.

Bad idea. Annabeth froze and glared up at him. Even though they were considerably closer than they had been when they first got married, there was still part of Annabeth that Percy knew not to mess with. And he had just crossed that line.

But he needed to know what was going on. _Why_ was Annabeth sending him and his mom to Seattle when she was going back to New York? What was happening?

"Annabeth," Percy said. He tried to keep his voice steady. "_Why _would we need to be safe?"

She scowled and stared up at him. Percy tried not to shrink away.

"Percy," she said. Her voice was deathly calm and cold. "When we get to the airport, I need you to get on this plane to Seattle and meet your mom there. When I get finished in New York, I'm going to come and get you, and then you and I are going to go somewhere alone. Do you understand?"

He frowned, and something inside of him broke at her words. Annabeth was used to handling these situations. She dealt with them every single day, but she had never made him go anywhere else. Something had to be seriously wrong.

Percy sighed and set her phone down on the bed. He turned away from her and grabbed his suitcase, shoving his clothes down into it and changing out of his pajamas.

They packed in silence. Annabeth made a few more phone calls, but she said as little as she could while Percy was listening. From the stuff he heard though, something serious was happening. And it had to be; he knew that Annabeth never got personally involved with her work unless it was something bad.

How could she expect him to let her go to New York without him?

After they finished packing, Annabeth herded him out of the room and downstairs. There were two of Annabeth's men with them, and once they were in the back of an armored car, Annabeth kept her phone pressed to her ear. Percy sat at her side and pretended to stare out of the blackened window.

The car stopped, and Annabeth took his hand. He turned his head toward her. She wasn't smiling, but she leaned forward to catch his lips in a soft kiss. When she pulled back, she whispered, "Stay in the car while we load. I'll come back and get you."

Percy watched her get out of the car.

He sat by himself in the car for about twenty minutes before Annabeth swung his door open. She offered him her hand, and he grasped her fingers tightly.

There were two small jets sitting about five hundred yards away from each other. There were a few people moving swiftly between each plane, but Annabeth cupped his cheek. Percy's attention narrowed to her.

Before he could say anything, she pulled his head down and caught his lips in a limb trembling kiss. She normally didn't kiss him with so much passion, and for some reason, it felt like a goodbye.

"I know you don't want to, Percy," she said when she pulled back. Her hands were knotted into his hair, and Percy was gripping her waist. "But I need you to do this for me, okay?"

"Why can't I go with you?" He asked.

"If you're somewhere safe then I can have a clear head. I need to be focused once I get to New York, and if I'm distracted by your safety then something bad could happen. If I know you're in Seattle with Thalia, then I can finish this faster and come get you faster," she explained. Her eyes searched his, and Percy tightened his grip.

"Why? What's happening?"

"I can't tell you right now. Give me two days in New York, and then I'll be in Seattle with you, and we can go somewhere alone. No phone calls, emails, nothing. Just you and me," she said.

And _man, _that sounded so good. Percy never got Annabeth all to himself. Even when they were at home and in bed, she had her cell phone sitting on the nightstand just in case. Which, he understood, he did, but sometimes it was hard.

Percy closed his eyes tight and turned his head away from hers. He said, "Okay. My mom is already there?"

"She's flying over Michigan right now. I have Piper tracking her flight, and she's going to get there before you do. Thalia will be standing on the runway waiting for you. Promise me you'll stay there with her until I come get you," she said.

He still wasn't looking at her, but he nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I, Annabeth."

She sighed and kissed him again before she stepped back. She said, "Don't call my cell phone. When I need to talk to you, I'll call Thalia."

He nodded and studied his shoes, "Okay."

"Percy, you know that I wouldn't ask you to do this unless I had to," she said. "You're all I have left anymore. I can't risk losing you in something like this."

He looked up at her and was surprised to see her staring at him. There was something in her eyes that Percy hadn't ever seen her give him and wait—

"Get on your plane, please, before I lose it," she said. Her voice was cold, but her eyes weren't.

He took three steps until he was standing directly in front of her. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. He buried one of his hands in her hair and whispered, "I love you."

It wasn't the first time that he had said it, but he didn't say it often enough for her to get used to hearing it. Percy meant it to the bottom of his being every single damn time. He knew that Annabeth hadn't ever said it back, but he had stopped expecting her to. He knew that he meant a lot to her, and that was enough for now.

This time was no different. She leaned up and kissed him again before she gently pushed him away. Percy took a deep breath before he let one of the guys on Annabeth's team lead him to the plane. She stood still as stone and watched as he climbed up the steps, and once Percy was sitting in his seat, staring out the window, he saw her turn around and walk toward her own plane.

"Mr. Jackson," a flight attendant said softly, breaking his train of thought. "Please fasten your seatbelt for take-off. Can I get you anything right now?"

He shook his head and murmured, "No, thank you."

And as Percy's plane took off, he couldn't help but feel like something was about to go terribly wrong.

He would get to New York if it was the last thing he did.

**Ω**

Honestly, it surprised him that he made it here at all.

Yeah, Percy was in New York. It turned out that the plane that Annabeth had put Percy on had to stop in Denver and connect with another jet. Once they had gotten to the airport, Percy had claimed that he felt a little sick and would like to take a walk while they were waiting. Of course, one of the guys had followed him, but Percy had pulled a quick getaway through a two door restroom. After that, he had managed to get on a plane to New York. It might not have counted though because he used his credit card that Annabeth had given him. Oh well.

When he got to New York, he called his best friend, Grover, and he had picked him up from the airport. Percy had been sure that Annabeth knew by then, but no one had grabbed him yet.

That was where his plan came to an end though. He hadn't really thought about what he would do after he got to New York. Where was he supposed to look? Where was she going to be?

Percy asked Grover to let him out on the side of the street near his old apartment (before he had to move in with Annabeth). Percy definitely didn't want Grover to be mixed up in whatever this was. He didn't even know the full story about why Percy had gotten married to Annabeth. It hadn't been because they were in love that's for sure. For the first four months, Percy had carefully avoided her. He hadn't even liked to look at her back then.

But look at what he was doing now. He was about to risk his life to go find her. And if it really wasn't anything like she had tried to tell him, then she would kill him anyway for breaking his promise.

As soon as Grover pulled away from the curb, Percy caught a cab and gave the driver the address to Annabeth's office. At least it would be a start.

Percy tossed some cash at the cab driver when they pulled up at the small building Annabeth used for her office. It was on the shadier side of New York, but then again Annabeth practically ran the whole shady side of New York. There was one black SUV parked at the side of the building, and Percy jogged to the door.

When he got to the number pad, he hesitated for a moment. He knew that Annabeth changed the number twice a week, and he probably should have thought about this before he got to the door.

On a whim, Percy typed in his birthday.

The door popped open.

Percy grinned briefly. Annabeth was such a sap sometimes.

He yanked the door open and ran inside. The building was empty, but when he turned toward his left, he saw that her office door was open with the light was on. She was here!

"Annabeth!" Percy said as he rounded the corner into her office.

But she wasn't there. There was someone sitting in her chair, and slowly, they turned around to face him.

Percy was frozen on the spot.

A blonde haired man, probably a few years older than Percy, sat there. His smile was cruel and gruesome, and there was a scar on his face that bent upwards with his expression.

The man laughed, "Well, if it isn't Percy Jackson. You're just what we needed to finally get some cooperation."

Percy tried to take a step backwards, but he bumped into someone else. When he turned around to see who it was, a dark object hit him in the middle of the forehead, and Percy couldn't see anything anymore.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

**-SomethingMoreCreative**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: There are going to be three more parts to this AU after this, and I will keep posting on Mondays until the AU is completed. I would love to talk to you about this AU, and you can either send me a PM on this site or leave me an ask on my tumblr. The link is on my profile. I would be more likely to answer an ask on tumblr, but either one is fine. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****_Percy Jackson and the Olympians. _**

_-12152014-_

Annabeth had called his cell phone seventeen times already. He hadn't answered at all.

This was ridiculous. She had gotten a phone call from Travis almost eight hours ago telling her that he had lost Percy at the airport in Denver. Annabeth had grit her teeth angrily and hung up on him. She would have to deal with him later.

But she _knew _that Percy would end up doing something stupid like this. She knew that she should have sent Jason to Denver to meet them and make sure that Percy got to Seattle. Except she hadn't been able to spare Jason at the time. She had needed him in New York.

Damn, she should have just brought Percy with her. Having him wait in the car would be a hell of a lot safer than having him somewhere in New York that she didn't know about. _Especially _now that he wouldn't answer his phone.

What the hell was he doing?

Annabeth slammed her fist down onto the table. They were in an empty warehouse a few miles from their office, and they were trying to pinpoint Castellan's location. Several shipments from last night had gone missing, and Annabeth needed to get them back and get rid of Castellan and his team before her own business was corrupted. They had suffered economically (really what they had lost was just pocket change, but Annabeth didn't like people stealing her money) for the past six months because of Castellan sapping their shipments. Once the threats had started pouring in two days ago, Annabeth had called it. She had grabbed Percy and headed to Miami to get out of the way while she sent two of her guys to infiltrate his group. But it hadn't worked. Piper called and told her that they hadn't heard from the guys she had sent it.

It was all a big mess, and Annabeth had just decided to meet them head on and deal with it herself. That's why she wanted Percy in Seattle. She didn't know what kind of game Castellan would play, so she wanted Percy to be out of the equation. She couldn't risk losing him.

Which was… strange. Annabeth had spent _years_ distancing herself from people. It made her work a hell of a lot easier. If she kept her emotions out of it, she could work better and more efficiently. But she was getting older, and for appearances sake, she needed a husband.

She had no idea that she would start to actually care about Percy. She had picked him because he was the same age as her, and he worked as an assistant at a company that Annabeth dealt with a lot. She had ran a background check on him, and she had some of her guys watch him for a few months before she brought him down to the office and "persuaded" him to marry her.

He had resented her at first. He had hated her, and he had avoided her at all costs. There were some moments where Annabeth felt guilty about forcing him into marriage, but business always came first.

But over the past few weeks, they had grown closer, and Annabeth was actually starting to like him. She had tried so hard to keep him at an arms distance, but he had worked his way closer until she couldn't deny it.

She loved Percy. She just hadn't told him yet.

And now, she couldn't find him. What if something happened and she never got to—?

"Annabeth," Piper interrupted, making Annabeth look up to the brown headed girl. "We got a trace on Percy's phone. He's at the office."

She sighed in relief. She was going to kill him when she got him back. She said, "We're going to get him right now. Anything on Castellan yet?"

Piper shook her head as they headed toward an armored car parked inside the building. Annabeth climbed into the passenger seat, while Jason jumped into the driver's seat.

Piper kept talking from the backseat as they pulled out of the warehouse, "A black SUV was spotted three miles west of the office heading in the opposite direction. We're not sure if they've been to the office yet, but there isn't anything there. All of the files were burned, and we have all of the computer hard drives. Even if they broke into the building, there wouldn't be anything that they could take to reveal the shipment schedules."

Annabeth nodded to herself and tried to call Percy's phone again. It rang twice before it went to his voicemail.

_Hey, sorry I missed your call. Leave me a message, and hopefully I won't forget to call you back._

She threw her phone down at the sound of his voice.

What had he been thinking? Why couldn't he just get on the plane to Seattle like she had asked? Did he have to come looking for her? He could have put himself into so much danger coming to New York.

When Jason pulled up at the office, Annabeth jumped out and sprinted to the door, keying in Percy's birthday on the number pad and sweeping inside.

"Percy!" She yelled. "Are you here?"

Jason and Piper entered the building just as Annabeth spotted her office light flipped on. She pulled her gun from the waistband of her jeans, and she raced down the hall to her office.

She could hear Jason and Piper behind her, and she held her gun up when she walked into the room.

Which was dumb. Someone could have been inside, and she could have been killed right then. But with the possibility that Percy was sitting at her desk, playing a game on his phone or surfing the internet on her computer, she didn't care.

The room was empty.

Something felt wrong though. There had been someone in this room. Her office chair was sitting at a different angle. Her computer monitor was turned slightly to the left. A pile of magazines on the side table beside the couch had been shuffled. The two chairs in front of her desk had been shifted away from each other, like someone had pushed through them.

"Jason," Annabeth said. Her voice was colder than normal. "Pull the security cameras and check them."

He nodded and set off toward their command center that was set up in the lock room. Annabeth walked further into her office, ignoring how wrong the room felt. As she rounded her desk and looked down, she saw Percy's phone sitting on top of a handwritten note.

_Careful, Chase. Now I have a bargaining chip. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious husband, would you?_

Annabeth was frozen. Her head was spinning with emotions, and her heart was beating too fast.

"This is weird, Annabeth," Piper said, putting her gun back into her holster at her hip. "We've checked everywhere for Percy. You and I both know the only option that's left."

She sighed and leaned against her desk. Her hands were shaking, and she felt sick to her stomach. She picked Percy's phone up and put it in her back pocket before she handed the note to Piper.

"Oh," Piper breathed.

"Annabeth?" Jason called from down the hall.

She looked up at Piper, and they both made their way down to the lock room where Jason was checking the cameras. He was leaning over the desk, and when they came into the room, he frowned.

"I pulled the tapes from when Piper and I left the office earlier today and fast-forwarded through them. About two hours ago, a black SUV pulled up at the back door, and three men tripped the keypad on the door. After that, they searched the building, but they didn't find anything. I think this is Castellan, and he was in your office for a long time on the phone. But barely forty-five minutes ago, Percy came in through the side door too. This is the footage from the hallway and your office," Jason said, turning the computer screen toward her.

Annabeth's breath caught in her chest.

Percy stumbled inside the door and turned in a circle. Once he spotted the light on in her office, he grinned and ran down the hall. His lips formed her name, and even though she couldn't hear him, his voice hurt her heart. She switched her gaze to the next camera when Percy turned into her office. Castellan was sitting in her office chair, and he turned around to see Percy. His mouth was moving, but Annabeth was staring at the back of Percy's head. As Castellan was talking, a bigger man moved behind Percy, and hit him on the head with a gun. Percy collapsed against the floor.

Annabeth reached out and paused the video. She pointed to the bigger man first and then Castellan as she said, "I don't care about seeing the rest of the video. Piper, Nico is still trailing this SUV?"

"Yes, they've stopped at an abandoned warehouse that we used to use to get shipments," Piper said, looking up from her phone.

Annabeth frowned, "I want that warehouse surrounded up to three miles out. There's no way that they're getting out. Send everyone into position, and we will meet them there once we restock weapons."

"Annabeth," Jason started. His blue eyes were wide. "Shouldn't we negotiate with them since they have Percy?"

She shook her head and straightened, "No. We don't negotiate. When we get there, those motherfuckers are _mine_."

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

**-SomethingMoreCreative**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for all of the support that I have received for this story. I'm glad that you all like it so much! That's awesome! I will continue posting on Mondays until I feel like the AU is complete. Also: since I have given you the day that I will update, it would be great if you guys could refrain from leaving a review that requests an update. It's sort of annoying to read a review that only contains that. Thanks! And stop by my tumblr and leave me an ask or PM me here to talk to me about this story or about anything! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians _or anything else that you may recognize. **

_-12222014-_

Percy woke up handcuffed to a water pipe. His hands were above his head, and his arms were really hurting. He could feel the cuffs digging into his skin, and after a second, he noticed a thin trail of blood running down his clothes and staining his white shirt. His head was pounding, and it kind of felt like one of his eyes was swollen.

The room was small, and it was bare of any furniture. There was a window about six feet away from him, but Percy didn't think that he would be able to get to it.

Was this what Annabeth had been worried about in Miami? This is why she was going to send him to Seattle? Did she know that something bad was going to happen if he came back to New York?

Well, she had tried to convince him. She had put him on a plane to keep him safe, but Percy had completely ignored that and jumped on a different plane to New York. This was all his fault.

_Jesus, _Percy thought, _I'm an idiot. _

It was strange, but Percy thought that he would rather be here than in Seattle. At least if he was here then he knew what was going on, and maybe he could try to keep Annabeth safe.

Like she needed him to though. She dealt with this stuff every day. With Percy being here, it was probably throwing off her game when she needed to focus. She was going to kill him when he saw her the next time.

_If _he saw her again.

What if he didn't? What if he never got to see Annabeth again?

Percy flinched. He didn't want to think about it. He _would _see Annabeth again. He _had_ to.

Suddenly, the wooden door flew open, and a tall man strode into the room. He had blonde hair and a scar on his face and—wait, this was the guy from before! This was the guy that had been sitting in Annabeth's office when Percy got there!

"Percy Jackson," the man hummed, crossing his arms and staring at Percy. "I never knew that you were worth this much trouble."

"What—what do you mean?" Percy asked. His throat was scratchy, and his voice was rough.

"Well, your wife has the building and outer perimeter surrounded. One of my men reported snipers on the roofs of all of the neighboring buildings, and I wouldn't doubt that they are more capable of waiting us out," the man said.

"I don't understand," Percy said. "What's going on? Why do you have me, and why are you trying to hurt Annabeth?"

He laughed, "Oh, I don't care about your wife. I care about the _money. _I'm sure you're wife has mentioned me. The man that's been stealing her shipments of drugs? The man that makes more money than she does now thanks to his extreme and cunning abilities?"

Percy just sat there. Annabeth never talked to him about her work, but somehow he wasn't surprised that she was dealing with drugs. With Annabeth, work was work, and she never mixed him with work. Never.

This situation was probably a prime example of why.

The man laughed again and said, "I'm Luke Castellan."

"And why do you need me, Luke?" Percy said. His tone was very bored. He thought Annabeth would be proud.

"Isn't it obvious? I need Annabeth to hand over her newly scheduled shipments, and you're the only thing that she cares enough about to actually do it," he said.

Percy shook his head and frowned, "You're an idiot. Annabeth would never risk her business because of me."

"So that's why she's ready to negotiate? That's why she's waiting on me to open the door so she can walk in and trade for you, right? Because you're worthless?" Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't see why you're so important. After all, why did she even marry _you _when she could have had someone like _me?"_

Percy stiffened, "So that's what this is about? You're mad because Annabeth married me and not you?"

Luke's laughter died, and he strode forward. Percy stared up at him in defiance, but Luke unexpectedly kicked his stomach several times. Percy heard something inside of him _snap. _There was a sudden pain in his left side, and he fought back the urge to throw up.

"I never wanted to marry your pitiful wife, Jackson," Luke growled. "I just wanted the money."

Percy rolled over onto his side and glared up at him.

"Now get up," Luke said. "We've got some trading to do."

Ω

Percy was having a bad day.

He was tied to a chair. His mouth was tapped with duct tape. There was a gun pressed to his temple. His stomach was really hurting, and he was betting that a couple of his ribs were broken. He was sure that he looked like he had gone to hell and back because the front of his white shirt was stained red, and both of his eyes were probably black from where Luke had rammed him into a wall earlier.

Annabeth was going to lose it when she saw him. She was going to pull a gun out and get herself killed because of him.

Percy knew that he shouldn't have done this. It was probably going to mess everything up. If neither of them died, then Annabeth was going to lose her business because she had traded everything to get him back. She would hate him forever. She would never want anything to do with him ever again because he had made her choose.

And she was going to make the wrong choice.

"Open the door!" Luke shouted. Three men moved to pull open the garage door.

As the morning sunlight flooded the warehouse, Percy saw three black SUVs sitting about twenty yards away from the door. As he watched, the doors opened on one, and Piper and Jason climbed out.

There she was.

Annabeth walked around the front of the SUV and joined Jason and Piper. She was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, a black jacket, and black boots. Her facial expression was cold, and her eyes searched the room furiously. When she met his gaze, her features relaxed slightly, but she shifted back to cold and furious a millisecond later. She turned her head to the side and said something to Piper before they started forward.

Percy tried to shake his head to tell her to turn around and get out, but the guy holding a gun to his head slammed it against his temple. White stars appeared in his line of sight. When the world straightened again, Percy could see that Annabeth's eyes were blazing. She was staring at them murderously, and Percy thought that she was going to pull her gun out and shoot everybody in the room right then.

"Annabeth!" Luke shouted excitedly, spreading his hands. "It's wonderful to see you."

"Untie him," she said immediately. Percy flinched at her voice.

"Do you have the shipments?" Luke asked.

"Yes, but I want to see him untied and standing two feet away from me before I tell you the rest of the information you need," she said, coming to a stop a few feet away. Jason and Piper stood at her sides.

Luke turned back toward the guy that was standing beside Percy's chair, and suddenly, the tape was being cut and Percy was being hauled to his feet. He groaned, but the tape on his mouth smothered the sound. The guy hauled him forward, and Percy stumbled.

"You realize the quality in which you return him to me will directly reflect the quality of the shipment you receive," Annabeth warned.

"If you want him back at all, you'll give me the shipments I asked for without question," Luke said, motioning to the guy holding Percy.

He shoved Percy down onto the ground in front of Annabeth, and Percy rolled onto his side. He tried not to make any noises, but his ribs were really hurting. He blinked dizzily up at Annabeth. She wasn't looking at him, but Jason was watching him.

"This file contains the information you requested. The shipment that you asked for is at the location provided in the file. It would be greatly appreciated if you do not contact me again," Annabeth said. She motioned to Jason, and all of a sudden, Percy was being hauled to his feet. He tried to meet Annabeth's gaze, but her eyes were locked on Luke.

Luke laughed coldly, "Oh, I'll be contacting you again, Annabeth. Hopefully, your husband won't be as easy to kidnap next time."

She turned on her heels and walked away.

Jason dragged Percy to his feet. They started toward the car quickly as Jason dragged him along. Piper was right behind them, guarding Percy's back. When they got to the SUV, Annabeth jumped into the backseat, and Jason opened the door and pushed Percy inside. Once Jason was in the driver's seat, he hit the gas pedal, and the other two SUVs fell in line behind them.

"We have about six minutes until Castellan figures out what we did. You need to hurry, Jason," Piper said.

Percy's vision was blurry, but he could see Annabeth leaning over him. The cold expression had faded, and she bent her head to his, pressing her forehead against his. She grabbed a knife from her back pocket and cut the tape off of his mouth. Percy winced when it ripped his skin in several places, and she muttered a string of apologies under her breath. She pressed her hands against his chest, frowning when he groaned.

"At least three broken ribs," she muttered. Suddenly, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his. Percy didn't respond, but he tried to keep his eyes open so she could see him.

He was just… so _relieved _that she was here. He was glad that he was here with her instead of in Seattle. He would take all of the pain just to be with her.

"Jesus, Percy," she breathed, pressing her hand to his heart. "I didn't know if I would ever see you again."

He stared up at her. Even though he was sore all over and he didn't know if he would be able to do it, he reached up and pressed one of his hands to her cheek. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. Her eyes were watering, and Percy caught a few of her tears on his fingertips.

Their reunion was short lived. In the next few seconds, Jason jerked the car to the side suddenly, and Annabeth was leaning up to look out of the back window. She pulled her gun from the holster on her hip and leaned up front to talk to Jason and Piper.

"Flat tire," Jason said suddenly. He kept glancing up in the rear view mirror. "We can't make it much longer. Both of our other SUVs were shot out, and the others won't make it in time."

"Just one car?" Annabeth asked.

"As far as I can see," Jason said.

"Annabeth, I don't know. Maybe we should keep driving until we can get help from the others. We need to get Percy to a doctor," Piper said.

Percy cleared his throat. He croaked, "I'm okay."

Annabeth set her hand on his thigh.

Jason cursed and jerked the car again. There was an awful pounding sound underneath them, and Percy wondered what had happened. Jason said, "That's a second flat tire. One more and we won't have a choice."

Annabeth was silent for a second before she said, "Pull over, and get your guns out."

Percy's eyes widened. Was Annabeth planning on getting out of the car to fight them? What was going to happen?

Before he could ask, Piper was bending down and grabbing guns from the floor. They must have been stashed in the floorboards because she handed Annabeth another handgun and a rifle. She left out three more guns before she said, "Maybe we should have just let them have the shipment, Annabeth. We could still tell them where it really is."

"I've already had Frank collect all of the shipments, and that would be pointless. If we let them have one then they would want more and more until they had all of them," Annabeth said. "It's better if we can take care of this right now. With Castellan dead we won't have any more threats hanging over our heads."

Just as she finished talking, the back window shattered.

Annabeth cursed and covered Percy's face with her hands. Percy could feel the car spinning before it came to a stop.

"Stay right here, and don't you _dare_ move," Annabeth threatened. "I swear to god, Percy, don't you _dare." _

He nodded.

She loaded her gun before she threw the door open and jumped out. Percy could already hear the gun shots, and Piper and Jason jumped out too.

The car was shaking, and Percy could hear bullets hitting the metal of the car. The windshield shattered, and Percy shrank farther into the seat, trying to cover his face with his own arm. There were people yelling and screaming, but the guns were louder than everything. His ears were starting to hurt, and he felt sick to his stomach.

Was Annabeth going to be okay? What if she wasn't?

Suddenly, the door behind his head was jerked open, and someone grabbed him by the arms. They yanked him out of the car, and Percy yelled in pain. He opened his eyes to see one of Luke's men, and he dragged him across the pavement.

Percy could see Annabeth, Piper, and Jason all standing in a rough line a few yards away from him. Their backs were to him, and they were shooting at Luke and two more men. As Percy watched, one of the guys fell to the ground, but Jason also doubled-over in the same moment. He was on his feet in two seconds though, shooting even more shots.

Even though Percy felt like he was dead, he tried to fight back. He managed to elbow the man in the side, but his grip just tightened. If he didn't get away from this guy, then Luke was going to take him again, and then all of this would have been for nothing.

His voice was hollow and he doubted it would be loud enough, but he yelled, "_Annabeth!"_

She turned around sharply, and when she spotted him, she sprinted toward him. As she was running, she raised her gun and fired.

She didn't miss. All of a sudden, the man dragging him went limp, and Percy shoved away from him before his body fell onto the pavement. Percy managed to balance on his own feet for a second, and Annabeth caught him before he fell too.

"Stay behind me!" She shouted, shoving him behind her body. She still had one of her own arms wrapped around his waist, and she was using her other hand to fire her gun. Piper and Jason had walked backwards to stand with them while Luke and his remaining man had moved forward.

Annabeth grunted suddenly and stumbled, loosening her grip on his waist for half of a second. Percy realized that she had been shot in the arm from the way she was standing. He tried to shift out of her hold, but she tightened her grip and forced him down onto the pavement to sit.

He caught her gaze for half of a second. She stared back at him, and for the first time ever, Percy could see fear in her eyes. Her expression sent a shock down his spine. Percy had _never _seen her scared of anything. This entire time he had been married to her, he had never seen her like this.

She turned back around and pulled out her rifle before Percy could say anything.

"Jason!" Piper shouted. Percy turned his gaze to the right of Annabeth just in time to see Jason fall to the ground. Piper tried to catch him, but his head hit the pavement before she could get close enough.

"Annabeth!" Piper yelled, standing over Jason's body. "What do we do?"

"Keep shooting!" She yelled back, pumping another round. She jerked to the left at the last second, and another of Luke's men fell, leaving Luke himself and one more man.

As Piper shot her gun, the other lone man fell to the ground, and as Luke realized this, he started running forward. Annabeth threw her rifle down and pulled out her handgun, but Luke never fell. He kept running toward them, and he held his gun higher when he got closer.

Percy grabbed Annabeth's ankle and jerked her down to avoid the shot from Luke's gun. She fell onto his chest, and Percy heard another _crack _from his ribs. Annabeth rolled off of him and sat up, but Luke was only two feet away from them now. He was standing right beside Percy's foot, and he had one gun on Annabeth and another on Piper from where she was a few feet away.

"Say goodbye, Annabeth," Luke said cheerfully. His eyes were dark, and his grin was malicious. "You're dead."

Just before he pulled the trigger, Percy used his last bit of strength to throw himself over Annabeth. He felt something sting his shoulder right above his heart, but he swept his foot to the right. Luke lost his balance and started to fall backwards, and Percy heard one more shot before everything was silent.

Annabeth pushed herself out from under Percy and hovered above him. "Percy!" She yelled as his eyes started to droop. He wanted to stay awake, but he was just so _tired. _

"Safe… now?" He asked, drawing in a deep breath. It wasn't enough.

She hugged him and pressed her hand to the wound on his shoulder. Tears were dripping down her face. She said, "We're fine. You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay."

He didn't think so, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Annabeth more. Percy's eyes closed to Annabeth's tear streaked face and the sound of sirens.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

**-SomethingMoreCreative**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This is the fourth part to this AU. There will be one more part, and it will be posted next Monday. I'm glad you guys like this AU, and I would love to talk to you about it. You can send me a PM here, but I will be more likely to answer an ask on tumblr. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****_Percy Jackson and the Olympians _****or anything else that you may recognize. **

_-12282014-_

Annabeth scrubbed a hand over her face as she listened to Frank give the status report. Normally, Piper did this part since she was Annabeth's second in command, but she was still at the hospital with Jason. Before she had left, Annabeth had spoken with Jason's doctors, and they had told her that he was going to be fine. He could come back to the office in two weeks.

After Annabeth's own surgery, she had skipped recovery and headed down to the office to meet Frank. Her doctors were upset that she wasn't staying in a hospital bed and resting, but she had more important things to deal with than a shot in the arm. She was fine.

Percy, on the other hand, wasn't. He had been in surgery for two hours already, and the doctors had told her that it would be a few _more _hours before they were finished. They had already removed the bullet from his shoulder, but they were reconstructing his rib cage. A few of his ribs had already been broken, but when he had pulled her down on top of him, her weight had broken the rest.

She had gotten to see him for a few minutes before she left. Of course, he had been asleep, and he had an oxygen mask on his face. It was better than nothing.

She wasn't getting her hopes up. Even though the doctors were optimistic, Annabeth wasn't going to think about it.

Honestly, thinking about a world without Percy in it made her sick. She wasn't sure that she could handle.

At the beginning of their marriage, she had never imagined that she would ever love him or want to be with him. She never thought that she would have risked her business to keep him safe. Or try to keep him safe. She should have known that he would have done something stupid to try and protect her.

She should have known that he would have gotten hurt because of her.

"Annabeth," Frank said suddenly, jerking her out of her own thoughts.

"Sorry," she said as she rubbed her eyes and sat up straight. She realized that while she had been thinking, she had started drifting off in her chair. She hadn't slept since the night before she and Percy had gotten to Miami (not counting having surgery earlier, but that wasn't exactly resting). And she was exhausted.

"You need to sleep," he said, stacking up his papers and closing his files.

Annabeth had been working with Frank for almost as long as she had been working with Piper. He was a retired Marine, and as soon as he had gotten back from Iraq, Annabeth had grabbed him from the airport and offered him a job. He was really nice and organized, and he was _great _with a gun.

She shook her head, "I tried. I can't sleep alone anymore."

Frank nodded silently and checked his phone, "I sent Hazel and Nico to trace through Luke's history. They're supposed to call when they find something."

"Have them report directly to you," she said. "If it's something important then bring it me, but otherwise, I don't care until later."

"How is Percy?" He asked.

She sighed, "They don't know yet. He's still in surgery. They have to reconstruct his ribcage, and some of the ligaments in his shoulder were damaged when they pulled the bullet out. If he ever wants to swim again then we'll have to go through a lot of physical therapy."

"He's really brave," Frank said. "All of us want to meet him officially when he gets better."

Annabeth felt tears start to pool in her eyes. She nodded along and stood up, wincing when she put too much weight on her arm. She said, "Can you drive me back to the hospital?"

Ω

"He's going to be okay," Annabeth said into the phone. "I'm actually about to see him now."

Sally sighed on the other side of the line. She sounded like she was crying. "Thank you so much, Annabeth."

"It's nothing to be thankful for. I'm the reason he's hurt in the first place," Annabeth mumbled into the phone. She was standing in the hallway outside of Percy's room, leaning against the wall and talking to Sally on the phone.

She was still in Seattle. Annabeth had already arranged for her flight back to New York, but it wouldn't be until morning. Thalia was flying back with her just in case, but Annabeth was pretty sure that it would go smoothly.

"Oh, sweetheart," Sally crooned. "You're the reason he's alive. You two wouldn't have survived the robbery without you."

Annabeth winced. She hadn't told Sally what had really happened, and instead she told her that they had come back to New York because someone had threatened to rob her office. She had also put Sally on a plane after a threat to hurt their family. When Annabeth and Percy got there, they walked in on the robbers and had been held hostage. If it hadn't been for Annabeth's quick wit and decision to kill the robbers, they would have both died.

It wasn't the truth, but the last thing she needed was Percy's mom panicking on a daily basis because of Annabeth's line of work.

"Maybe," Annabeth said. "By the way, your plane will be at the airport in the morning. Thalia is coming back to New York with you, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"You didn't have to spend all of that money on a private jet, dear. I would have been fine on a commercial flight," Sally said.

"It's no big deal," Annabeth said casually. "I feel better with you on a private jet anyway. No sense to take risks when we have the money."

"I suppose you're right," she conceded. "And I enjoy it more anyway."

Annabeth smiled a little, "I should see you tomorrow. I'll have Thalia bring you to the hospital when you land if you want. Just let her know, and she can call me."

"Okay. Thank you so much, Annabeth," Sally said. "Tell Percy that I love him."

"I will," she said.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Try and get some rest," Sally said.

Annabeth needed to hang up before she started crying. She said, "I will. Thank you, Sally. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, dear," Sally said as she hung up.

As soon as she was off of the phone, she let out a deep breath and leaned her forehead against the wall. Her arm was aching, and her head was hurting. She also needed to get something to eat. She probably needed a shower too, but being here with Percy was one hundred percent more important.

He was in his own hospital room now (in the private wing of the hospital). She had already spoken with his doctors. The surgery had gone well, and he was going to be fine after a long round of physical therapy.

She was relieved. As soon as she had heard the news, she had nearly collapsed in on herself. She had been so worried about him, and now he was fine. He was going to be fine.

"Annabeth?"

She turned to see Piper standing a few feet away from her. She smiled, "Hey, Piper. How's Jason?"

"He's fine. He keeps asking me for food," Piper rolled her eyes fondly. "He also wanted to know how you and Percy were doing so I told him that I would come check."

Annabeth sighed again, "Percy's going to be fine. The surgery was good, and they are putting him in a lot of physical therapy."

Piper nodded, "That's good. And you?"

"I'm fine."

"You look like you need to go home," Piper said.

"I can't," Annabeth said miserably. "Not without him."

Piper nodded again and stepped forward, setting her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. She said, "Let me know if you need me?"

Annabeth nodded.

With another soft look and nod, Piper set off down the hallway.

Annabeth turned toward Percy's hospital room and opened the door, closing it softly behind her. Percy was snoozing peacefully in a hospital bed now. He looked a million times better than he did earlier. The swelling on both of his eyes had gone down, but the bruises were worsening. One of his wrists was bandaged tightly from where the handcuffs had cut his arms. Under his hospital gown (Annabeth had already checked), his chest and shoulder were wrapped tightly with bandaged. The nurses had told her that they would come in to change them in a few hours.

Even around the bruises and the cuts, Percy looked ten years younger in his sleep. He looked calm. His jaw was hanging open slightly, and there was a bit of drool dripping down his chin.

She smiled tightly and stepped forward. She pressed a kiss to his forehead before she took his hand and sat down in the chair beside him. As soon as her back was against the chair, her eyes closed, and she was asleep.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

**-SomethingMoreCreative**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This is the last part to this AU. I've had a great time writing it, and I hope you guys have enjoyed it as much as I have. Remember to go over to my tumblr if you want to see any extra stuff or leave me an ask! I would love to talk to you!**

**I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, or anything else you may recognize. **

_-152015-_

Percy woke up.

Honestly, it was kind of a surprise when he recognized the beeping sound and the white walls. It shocked him when he realized he had an IV in his left arm. He looked down curiously when he could feel his chest aching. He had thought that he would be dead. He didn't know that he was in a hospital room.

It also surprised him when he looked to his right to see Annabeth sitting in the chair beside his bed. She was holding his hand and staring at the television hanging from the wall.

For a second, Percy wondered if she was alright. She looked awful. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her arm was wrapped tightly in bandages. Her shoulders were hunched over, and she was curled in a ball in the chair except for the hand that held his.

He smiled. She was here with him. Percy had figured that she would have been at the office or at home dealing with the consequences and stuff from earlier. He never would have thought that she would have been here when he woke up.

Percy squeezed her hand, and her head snapped back to him faster than he expected. He smiled softly at her. His voice was rough when he said, "Hey."

Before he could move (not that he was able even if he wanted to), she stood up and leaned over him, shoving her face in his and staring at him. Her gray eyes were bloodshot, and the circles under her eyes were darker than he had expected. Her mouth was held in a tight line. Percy could tell he was about to get in trouble.

"Do you understand what you did?" Annabeth said. Her voice wasn't exactly warm, but it wasn't ice cold either.

"Yes," he said, staring back at her.

"And you realize that either one of us could have died, correct?"

"Yes."

"And I still don't understand why you did it."

He blinked down at their hands where they were resting softly on his stomach before he looked back up at her. He said, "I didn't want to be somewhere without you. I just wanted to be with you, but you wouldn't listen to me."

She frowned, "If you had been in Seattle with your mom, you wouldn't have had to go through a five hour surgery. You wouldn't have almost _died. _Do you understand that? I almost _lost_ _you_."

"But you didn't," he said.

"By some miracle," she said shortly. Her expression darkened.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, looking down at their hands again.

"Yes. You should be," she said. "When you decided to come to New York instead of going to Seattle, I nearly lost my mind. When you wouldn't answer the phone, I almost ran out and searched for you myself. And when Luke called me and told me he had you, I was ready to throw away everything I have _ever _worked for to get you back. Do you understand that? I was ready to give up _everything _so you would be safe again. Do you know how dangerous that is for me?"

He shook his head.

Annabeth continued, "The only thing that has ever really been mine is this business. For a long time, it's been me and my work, and _that's all. _When I married you, I never expected to like you. I thought we would make appearances together in public and keep two separate lives outside of everything. But now, that's not possible. I need you, and I won't live in a world without you. And for a few hours, I thought I was going to have to. You almost took yourself away from me."

Percy didn't know what to say. Of course, she was right. Percy did almost get himself killed coming to New York, but he didn't regret it. If he had gone to Seattle then she could have died instead. And how could she expect _him _to live in a world without her?

"If I had gone to Seattle instead, then you would be dead," he said defiantly, lifting his eyes to hers.

She narrowed her gaze. "Might be. I _might _be dead."

He tried to shrug, but his shoulder flared with pain. He said, "Well, it's the same thing. You could have died if I went to Seattle, and I could have died by coming to New York. I wasn't going to sit out there and drive myself crazy waiting for you to call. You can't live without me, and I can't live without you. Next time, you'll be better off if you let me come with you and sit in the car."

Annabeth glared at him for another second until she bent her head the rest of the way and pressed her lips to his.

He sighed against her mouth and opened wider. He lifted his hand to put against her face, and he grunted when the IV tugged his skin. Instead, he squeezed her fingers a little tighter.

She pulled back from his lips and leaned her forehead against his. She buried her other hand in his hair. There were tears running down her face, and she kept her eyes squeezed shut. She whispered, "You scared me, Percy. When you jumped in front of that gun, I thought you were going to die. I thought you were _dead."_

"I'm sorry," he muttered, pressing his lips to hers again.

Annabeth pulled back enough to put a little room between them. She had stopped crying, and she caught the rest of her tears before they could fall. Her eyes were fierce again. She said, "_Never _do it again, understand? I may not be able to live without you, but I would rather die instead of you. Your life is worth ten of mine."

Percy shook his head and whispered, "Not to me."

She turned away, and he had to squeeze her fingers to get her attention again.

"Tell me what happened after," he said.

She scowled, "An ambulance came to get you, and the bodies were burned along with all of the other evidence. I have a team monitoring any activity that opens up, and they report back to Frank immediately."

"What about Luke?" Percy asked.

Her face hardened. "Dead."

He nodded.

Her expression softened again, and she ran her hand through his hair. Her voice was soft when she said, "How do you feel?"

"My shoulder is hurting really bad," he said. He shifted again, and another flare of pain shot through his body. "And my chest?"

"You were shot in the shoulder. During the surgery, some of the ligaments were damaged, so we will have to go through a lot of physical therapy if you want to swim again," she started, rubbing her hand down his face and to his shoulder. "And some of your ribs were already broken, but when I fell on you, it shattered the rest of them. They had to do reconstructive surgery. You have to stay in the hospital for at least three weeks."

Damn, that would be a long time. Three weeks of sitting in a hospital bed? This sucked.

"But what about you?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

She raised an eyebrow. Percy thought that there could be a trace of a smile just a few seconds away.

He went for it, "I mean, you always look beautiful to me, but you don't look 'fine.'"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. Percy cheered internally; he loved to make her smile.

Annabeth said, "I already had surgery today, and I've had three meetings at the office before I came back. I told you that I'm fine."

"You look tired," he said.

She hesitated for a second before she nodded. "Yeah, I haven't slept since the night before we left Miami."

"Mmm. Well, we didn't do much sleeping that night," he grinned when she rolled her eyes again. "You should go home and get some sleep. I'll be fine here."

"I can't," she said, looking away from him. "I can't sleep alone anymore."

Percy frowned, "What?"

"I don't sleep when I'm alone anymore. I never slept that much anyway, but when I started sleeping next to you, I could sleep for longer," she rubbed her hand down his chest. "I don't know why. I just can't."

"Go home and try," Percy said.

"No, I'm not wasting my time when I'll just go there and lay in our bed by myself until I give up and drive back down here," she said. "I'll sleep later, but you should definitely rest."

"I'm alright."

She pushed closer to him and hovered over his face, "You're not alright, and I need you to rest."

He started to object, but her expression made him stop. He blinked up at her and nodded before he titled his chin up.

She knew exactly what he wanted. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. Her hand slipped up to his chin, and her fingers traced the stubble on his jaw from not shaving for a few days.

When she pulled back, Percy looked up at her and whispered, "I love you."

She hesitated before she said, "I love you, too, Percy."

"You don't have to say it back," he told her. His eyes were getting heavy again, but he forced them to stay open.

"I know that I don't, but I love you so I'm going to say it," she said, leaning down to hug him softly. "I love you. I love you. Percy, I love you so much. I was so scared that something was going to happen. I love you."

Even though this was really heavy situation, Percy was grinning. He knew that Annabeth cared about him, but he never imagined that she would fall in love with him like he did with her.

"Stop smiling," she said in his ear.

"I can't." His grin widened.

She tightened her arms a little more and pressed her lips to his hair.

Percy slipped his fingers out of her grasp and carefully moved his arm down to her legs. He slipped his hand into the crook of her knees and pulled her up onto the hospital bed to rest beside him. She started to object, but Percy traced his hand up her back and buried it in her curls.

"You said you can't sleep alone," he said. "And you need to sleep just as much as I do. Stay here with me."

She hesitated, and her gray eyes met his. Percy knew what she was going to say before she said it. She nodded.

Percy let his arm wrap around her waist, and Annabeth laid her head right beside his. He stared at her until he fell asleep.

Ω

He woke up again when he felt something press against his forehead. His eyes were heavy, and by the time he opened them, Annabeth was already walking to the door. She had her phone to her ear, and her purse on her shoulder. She shut the door behind her quietly.

His attention shifted when something touched his hand, and Percy looked to the right to see his mom sitting on the edge of his hospital bed.

"Mom?" Percy asked. His voice was rough.

She smiled and leaned forward to brush his hair off of his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, but what are you doing here?" He asked. "I thought you were in Seattle?"

"I was, but Annabeth booked my flight back to New York. I just got off of the plane and came straight here," she said.

"You should have gone home and slept first. I'm fine," he said, trying for a smile.

She rolled her eyes, "You look fine. Annabeth said that the doctors came in this morning and that your vitals were okay. She also said that they were supposed to be coming back to change your bandages on your shoulder and chest. She was going to wait, but I told her that we would be fine."

"Where did she go?"

"She said something about an emergency meeting at the office? I'm not sure, but she said that she would answer her phone if you wanted to call her," she said.

Percy shook his head and leaned into his mom's hand on his face. "No, it's okay. Did she say when she would be back?"

"No, but I told her I would stay until she came back. Is that okay?"

"Of course, but you don't have to," Percy said.

She rolled her eyes, "Let me worry about you, sweetheart. You were almost killed by those robbers!"

Percy frowned, "What robbers?"

His mom laughed softly, "Annabeth said that you hit your head. It's okay if you don't remember most of it."

He kept his face blank and confused. If Annabeth had said something about robbers to keep his mom from understanding what had really happened, then he should probably just go with it. She probably had a reason for not telling his mom about her real work.

"Oh," Percy stuttered. "Um, okay."

She smiled down at him. "I'm so glad you're okay, Percy. I was so worried when Annabeth called. Which, I don't think I was as worried as Annabeth."

"She was worried?"

His mom laughed again, "Of course she was worried, Percy. She loves you just as much as I do."

Even though Annabeth had told him that she loved him last night, it made it even more real to hear his mom say that she noticed it.

Percy grinned, "Yeah, she told me not to be such an idiot next time."

"Well, that may be true, but I really hope there's not a next time," she said.

He laughed and let his eyes close. His mom threaded her hand through his hair, and their favorite TV show played in the background.

Ω

He never woke up before she did, so he really had to enjoy the small moments when it happened.

Annabeth was laying on her stomach right beside Percy. Her legs were tangled with his. One of her arms was pulled up by her head, but when Percy leaned up slightly, he could see her face. She looked almost ten years younger in her sleep, and every single worry and frown line was gone from her face. Her hair was in ringlets spread around her head and on top of the pillow. Sometime in the middle of the night, the sheets had slipped down to her waist. Now, Percy was getting a glorious view of her tan skin. Annabeth's back had always been one of Percy's favorite places on her body, but he never really told her that.

Carefully, Percy reached out and drew his fingertips up and down her back and arm. She sighed in her sleep, and Percy smiled.

It had been three month since the incident with Luke. Percy had spent three weeks in the hospital recovering from his wounds, and he was in physical therapy every single day of the week to try and get the movement back in his shoulder. It had been hell, but now, Percy was good. His shoulder and chest never hurt except for a distant ache when his emotions got out of control. It was weird sometimes, but it was a reminder.

Everything else was good though. He was spending more time with Annabeth. Their relationship was rock solid for once, and it kept Percy grounded more than he would admit. He hadn't realized how much he had needed from her.

Annabeth seemed to be doing better with him in her life too. She smiled more. She laughed at his dumb jokes more often. She was willing to come home early from her office. Of course, she was still working with her business, but that didn't seem to matter much anymore. Percy trusted her to be safe, and Annabeth trusted Percy to keep himself safe and listen to her. Somehow, it balanced. Percy knew that she was just trying to keep him from getting hurt again, but he also knew that he would do it all over again to keep Annabeth safe.

After another hour of Percy dozing on and off and rubbing Annabeth's back, she blinked her eyes open. He smiled again when he met her gray eyes.

"Good morning," he murmured softly, pressing his body closer to hers and leaning up over her. He pulled the sheets back up to cover the both of them.

She smiled lightly and stretched, rolling over and settling on her back underneath him. She yawned and then ran one of her hands up his chest to his face, running her fingers over his jaw. "Good morning," she said. Her voice was soft, and Percy leaned down and pressed a kiss to her nose.

"Hi," he said. "Are you still leaving for D.C. today?"

"I don't know," she said, smiling up at him. "Hand me my phone, and we can check."

Percy reached over her, and as he leaned farther up, Annabeth pressed a kiss to his stomach. She laughed when his muscles tightened. He grabbed her phone and pressed it into her hand.

He watched as she scrolled through her messages, and after a few seconds she locked her phone and looked up at him. He frowned.

"The good news is I'll be back late tonight, so I should be here when you wake up in the morning," she reminded him, threading her hand through his hair.

"But not when I go to sleep tonight," he grumbled, rolling off of her and onto his back.

"No," she said gently. "Not tonight. But, I do have an hour before I have to catch my flight, and I may have elected to spend it in bed with you."

He raised an eyebrow as she rolled over and crawled on top of him, straddling his waist. Percy ran his hands up her sides, and she set her hands on his chest. He said, "Is that so?"

"It is actually. So impress me, Mr. Jackson," she said mischievously.

He rolled his eyes, but he pulled her down to his lips. She melted into him, and Percy smiled to himself.

An hour later, she did have to leave, and Percy did have to go to bed by himself that night. But when he woke up the next morning, she was right there beside him, just like she would be for the rest of their lives.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

**-SomethingMoreCreative**


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